A toddler from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was found dead in Mississippi days after she was reported missing, authorities confirmed with NBC News.   

Two-year-old Nevaeh Allen went missing on Friday after her older siblings said they came home and noticed the door to their apartment was open and she was missing, Louisiana State Police said.   

Nevaeh’s stepfather, Phillip Gardner, was arrested in connection with her disappearance. He told authorities that he had taken a nap the afternoon she went missing and that was the last time he saw her.   

Lanaya Cardwell, Nevaeh’s mother, said she was at work at the time of her disappearance and that it was unlike her to go “wandering around.”   

“I never once had to correct Nevaeh for even leaving the house without an adult. Nevaeh knows better,” Cardwell said.   

According to NBC News, Gardner is being charged with unlawful disposal of remains and obstruction of justice. 

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